Rogers Centre

Rogers Centre
SkyDome

Facility statistics
Location	1 Blue Jays Way Toronto, Ontario M5V 1J3
Broke ground	October 3, 1986
Opened	June 5, 1989
Surface	AstroTurf (1989-2004) Grass (July 2004) FieldTurf (2005-present)
Construction cost	$570 million CAD
Architect	Rod Robbie, Michael Allen
Former names
SkyDome (1989-2005)
Tenants
Toronto Argonauts (CFL) (1989-present) Toronto Blue Jays (MLB) (1989-present) Toronto Raptors (NBA) (1995-1999)
Seating capacity
48,900 (2006Baseball) 53,506 (2005Football) 10,000-55,000 (2005 Concert)
Dimensions
Left Field Line - 328 ft (100 m) Left-Center Power Alley - 375 ft (114 m) Center Field - 400 ft (122 m) Right-Center Power Alley - 375 ft (122 m) Right Field Line - 328 ft (100 m) Backstop - 60 ft (18 m)

Rogers Centre, formerly known as (and often still called) SkyDome,1 is a multi-purpose stadium in Toronto, Ontario, situated next to the CN Tower near the shores of Lake Ontario. It is home to Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays and the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. While it is primarily a sports venue, Rogers Centre also hosts other large-scale events such as conventions, trade fairs, and concerts.

Rogers Centre is also noted for being the first stadium to have a fully retractable motorized roof and the only stadium to have hotel rooms attached to it, with 70 rooms overlooking the field. It is also the last North American major-league stadium built to accommodate both football and baseball. Since 1989, all the newer major-league stadia in Canada and the United States have been built specifically for one sport or the other (although some of the newer baseball parks have been known to host the occasional college football game.)

SkyDome, as it was then properly called, was the first major team sports arena in North America to sport a fully retractable roof; Montreal's Olympic Stadium earlier roof being a total failure. The roof is composed of four panels and covers an area of 345,000 square feet. It takes 20 minutes for the roof to open or close.
The venue is also well known for its enormous Jumbotron television, at 30 by 100 feet. For a time, it was the largest of its kind in the world. The Jumbotron and the stadium played host to several television events, including the series finales for Star Trek: The Next Generation and Cheers along with live coverage of the funeral of Princess Diana.

The centre also has an on-site fitness club, and Hard Rock Café. The Renaissance Toronto Hotel is also located within Rogers Centre, with some of the hotel rooms overlooking the field.

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Rogers Centre